Men in Blue and the City of Cape Town’s Law Enforcement officers sent a stern warning to the criminals on Friday 16 June (Youth Day), as they held what they called a Density Operation.
The operation is aimed at the top 10 stations affected by crime in the country, of which Khayelitsha is one.
Khayelitsha Police Station commander Brig Mnoneleli Magobiyane described the initiative as an integrated operation that encompasses officers deployed from other provinces to assist in a particular area.
“We had two operations doing foot patrols. There are officers who are under ‘lockdown operation’, which are the officers deployed from other provinces. And we have our provincial operation which is called the ‘restore operation’ and is composed of officers from other areas within the province and is led by provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Thembisile Patekile. All of them were combined doing foot patrols in BM section, Qanduqandu and Greenpoint informal settlements,” explained Magobiyane, adding that the aforementioned areas were regarded as some of the dangerous areas in the Khayelitsha policing precinct.
He stated that they also conducted stop and search as well as roadblocks. He said they managed to confiscate weapons, including knives and drugs.
“It was not the first time we conducted such an operation in Khayelitsha. A week before that, we had an operation in Taiwan and RR informal settlements. We don’t even announce it to our staff members. We just tell them to go because we avoid the information being leaked,” he stated, adding that they would conduct more similar operations in the coming weeks.
Magobiyane stated that the operation was praised by the community. He stated that during the weekend, not a single murder case was reported.
He said they aim to ensure regular police visibility.
“Normally, there are at least four murder cases every weekend. But last weekend there was nothing. It shows how effective the operation is,” said Magobiyane.
Mike Mpisekhaya, a BM section resident, said it was conspicuously quiet during the weekend.
“Yhoo bra, ziyasokolisa ezintwana. Every weekend, there is a shooting here. They shoot each other during the day. Crime is high here. I saw the officers on Friday going between the shacks patrolling. And after it was quiet. I didn’t hear any gunshot,” said Mpisekhaya, and applauded the officers for the “great work”.